AP style Geographic names directions and regions Basic

AP style Geographic names, directions and regions

Basic guidelines �Do not use postal abbreviations for states names. See state names entry in the stylebook. �Abbreviate Saint as St. (But abbreviate Sault Sainte Marie as Sault Ste. Marie. ) �Spell out Mount when used as name of communities or mountains. �Foreign names – check dictionary or www. nationalgeographic. com

Capitalize �Capitalize common nouns when they are an integral part of a proper name. �Lowercase common nouns when they stand alone. �For example: Pennsylvania Avenue. The avenue. �Also: The Phillippine Islands. The islands. The Mississippi River. The river.

Lowercase and datelines �Lowercase common nouns that are not part of a specific name: the Pacific islands, the Swiss mountains, Zhejiang province. �Datelines – placed at the start of a story to indicate where the city where the story originated. �For any questions on whether city names can stand alone, without the state name, refer to the datelines entry of the stylebook.

Directions and regions �In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc. when they indicate compass direction. �Capitalize North, South, Northeast, Northern, when they designate regions. �“General” example: He drove west. The cold front is moving east. �“Region” example: Snow is expected to pound the Midwest. The storm should carry to the East Coast and deliver rain throughout the Northeast.

Other examples �Settlers in the East went to the West in search of new lives. �He has a Southern accent. �Drive south about four miles to get to the fair. �The northeast corner of the county is slated for major drain improvements. �The storm started in the South Pacific.

With names of nations �Lowercase unless they are part of a proper name or are used to indicate a politically divided nation. �northern France; eastern Canada; the western United States; Northern Ireland; South Korea; North Korea.

With states and cities �Lowercase compass points when they describe a section of a state or city. �western Texas, southern Atlanta �Capitalize when part of a proper name. �North Dakota, West Virginia �Capitalize when denoting widely known sections. �Southern California, the South Side of Chicago, the Lower East Side of New York. �If in doubt, lowercase.

In forming proper names �Capitalize when combining with another common noun to form the name for a region or location. �the North Woods, the South Pole, the Far East, the Middle East, the Western Hemisphere.

Coast �Lowercase when referring to the physical shoreline – Atlantic coast, Pacific coast, east coast. �Capitalize when referring to regions of the United States lying along the coastlines. Atlantic Coast states; a Gulf Coast city; the West Coast. �Do not capitalize when referring to smaller regions: the Virginia coast. �Capitalize “the Coast” when standing alone only if the reference is to the West Coast.

In general �Capitalize when referring to specific regions organized under a governmental or social unit. �Lowercase references to general regions and everything else. �As always, check the stylebook and dictionary.

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